Formed November 28, 1839 (72nd county)
Polk County (17,547), Benton (1,524)
The 1937 yellow brick and masonry Art Deco courthouse is situated on a square at Main Street, United States Highway 411, Benton Station Street, and Ward Street. R. H. Hunt and Company are the building designers. Veterans’ memorials are on the grounds. There was an 1897 courthouse earlier in Benton. Columbus was the first county seat until 1840 then Benton. A Justice Center was built in 2007. Polk County was founded on November 28, 1839 from parts of McMinn and Bradley counties as the 72nd county. It was named for Governor James K. Polk. The county seat is named for Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton.
Polk County government consists of a sheriff, a County Executive, and 9 Commissioners. Four Circuit Court Judges, One Chancery Court Judge, One General Court Judge, and One Juvenile Court Judge serve Polk, Bradley, McMinn, and Monroe counties. Polk County is in the southeast corner of the state. It borders both North Carolina and Georgia. Chattanooga, Tennessee is west and Knoxville, Tennessee is northeast of the county. The county center is 17.9 miles East-Southeast of Benton nearer Archville. The county is surrounded clockwise by Monroe County and North Carolina and Georgia and Bradley and McMinn counties.
The area of the county is 435 square miles. It is 48 out of 95 in the state. It ranks 73 out of 95 in population in the state. It has a density of 40.3 persons per square mile making it 78 out of 95 in the state. Polk County has 13.8% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highways 64/74 cross the county from east to west from North Carolina to Bradley County. United States Highway 411 enters from the north, McMinn County, and exits to the south, Georgia. The county is an overall rectangle. Benton is located near the western border of the county. Benton is the county seat and the largest city. It is 8.7% of the county population. This county is in the Cleveland Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Benton
Copperhill
Ducktown
